by Nolan B. Canova

   Plus...  MEGACONNED TOO! by Ed Tucker

Long-time readers will no doubt recall the tempestuous PCR back issue #154 from last year where a few of us reported being less-than-thrilled with the goings on at one of the largest pop culture conventions on the planet, Orlando's MegaCon. The mixed reaction from the likes of ED Tucker, Christian Dumais, and myself was based more or less on our squashed expectations that we seemed to be spending much more to come away with much less. Mix that with increasing concern that some celebrities wouldn't even allow you in their airspace for less than the $20 they charge for an autographed picture. Years ago it was just the opposite, a great time could be had for a couple o' bucks; celebrities would sign nearly anything for free, only charging for an 8 X 10 glossy for sale at their table. Ah, those were the days.

Well, since last year's experience, Christian has moved to Poland (they have comic cons there?), and ED and I decided to re-calibrate our sights for a more realistic outcome. Apparently, some subtle changes must've been agreed-upon at Convention-central, because everyone seemed a tad better behaved this year, and most of us got what we came for. Most surprises were pleasant ones. The only thing ED and I knew ahead of time we wanted to repeat exactly, is that our two camps---his from Jacksonville and mine from Tampa---meet at the Con and go to lunch at Darryl's on I-Drive afterwards. Apopka-based filmmaker Jason L. Liquori ("Jason's Jungle") and I had been in email contact and we were going to try to meet up as well. The date was set for Saturday, March 6, 2004.

Leaving Tampa
Bouttime Studios guru Scott van Sickle was my ride this year as last, but this time we had quite a few passengers: Lexie Fyfe (lady wrestler and Scott's significant other) rode up front with Scott, I was wedged in the back with youthful PCR columnists Joshua "Black Dog" Montgomery and Clayton "The Ogre" Smith. And I mean wedged, none of us are small, but we were too grateful to mind the pain much. One visit to a strategically-located rest stop helped solve increasingly urgent plumbing problems.

Orlando
We arrived at the Convention Center from an entirely different direction from last year, where I remember we wound up in a large sandy lot; apparently even that was full as we were re-directed to a paved lot and had to take a shuttle(!) to the Con. Considering we left Tampa later than planned and had to take a shuttle from several blocks away from the center, we made decent time anyway, arriving thru the doors just past 10:30am. I had already bought Joshua's and my tickets online, I thought the others would've done likewise. I was saddened that we'd already be separated at the outset by an hour-long wait before the others could join us. Josh and I walked right in.

	Photo by Joshua Montgomery
	Nolan Canova holding the free issue of Cracked given to me by the magazine's publisher, Dick Kulpa, right. Dick is the first celebrity I met at the Con.

Lost in Wonder
This was Josh's first convention experience of this magnitude (he had attended Tampa's Necronomicon before, though, remembering it mostly for the partying), and seeing his wide-eyed wonder was a joy. We circled the environs a few times, keeping an eye out for our compatriots. There was a lot to take in.

The first celebrity I ran into nearly ran me over first: Dick Kulpa, publisher of Cracked Magazine was practically jumping in the aisles giving away free issues of Cracked. He introduced himself and said that Cracked wasn't Mad. I had just replied that I knew the difference when he dropped some flyers or something and went scrambling on the floor to retrieve them. I said, "Mr. Kulpa, you're a living legend, sir, please, let me and the kid do that." He laughed as we helped him pick up his papers. Super guy. He's making quite a few convention appearances in Florida this year, kinda has me thinking he's basically retired and has moved here. That's fine with me.

Lost In Space
My main objective at this event was to meet and greet the surviving members of the TV show Lost In Space, and get the few autographs and pictures I had not been able to acquire before. Thankfully, this opportunity presented itself nearly immediately as around 11:00am, June Lockhart, Bill Mumy, Angela Cartwright, Mark Goddard, Marta Kristen, and Bob May (actor inside the robot), took their places at their respective tables.

Photo by Joshua Montgomery
Nolan Canova with Bill(y) Mumy from TV's Lost in Space. Mumy's convention appearances are relatively rare and this was a holy grail experience for me. The picture he's holding is the one he autographed for me.

Bill Mumy and Angela Cartwright were next to each other, but Billy (I keep wanting to call him that, altho he prefers "Bill") seemed to want to get up and wander around, so I seized the opportunity to meet him when I could. I found myself feeling like a 12-year-old again, blubbering hysterically about the show and its impact on me (along with The Adventures of Superman, LIS is my all-time favorite TV show). He seemed cheerfully amused as I regailed my disgust at the 1998 LIS movie (the original cast must get that a lot--they seem uninterested in discussing it). He said while he and the late Jonathan Harris didn't turn down cameo roles flat out, they decided against appearing unless they could reprise their original roles which the producers did not have in mind.

I told Bill how much I liked him and his daughter Lilliana (who I referred to as "Ariana"--duhhhh) in "It's Still a Good Life" the sequel to the memorable Twilight Zone original ("It's a Good Life"), which played recently on the newest incarnation of that series. Joshua's positive (and timely) remarks regarding Mumy's recurring role in Babylon 5 (as "Lanier") was very well received. I should've thought of that, too.

	Photo by Joshua Montgomery
	I'm standing next to Penny Robinson! Angela Cartwright, a super-sweet and gracious lady in real life and another holy grail LIS find.

At least no one in my earshot did anything untoward like scream "Danger, Will Robinson!" which, I imagine, is about the uncoolest thing you could possibly do around him...or any of them actually. Next to Bill was Angela Cartwright who played his sister Penny on the show. I remarked that, yes, I'm actually old enough to remember her on Make Room For Daddy, which illicited an amused "uh-oh!" from Angela. (I later remembered the short-lived sequel, Make Room For Grandaddy, which reunited the cast in the '70s.) And that I remembered her and Bill's websites were designed by a relative of hers. She said "My son?" I about died when I remembered, yes it was her son--duhhh. The picture she autographed was one of her in a hot red number---rooowr! Tell you what, she and the whole cast are still remarkable looking! (I told Billy I wish I had millions of dollars when it counted, I would've made the definitive Lost In Space movie---he replied, "Yeah, me too!")

Mark Goddard and Marta Kristen (Major West and Judy Robinson) were at the table and I recalled with them their appearance at a 1998(?) Florida Fairgrounds baby-boomer convention. Marta remarked she remembered me, which was nice of her to say, but who knows (of course, I am really funny-looking, so hey, maybe...). I got their pictures and autographs at that time, but it's always nice seeing them again. Mark Goddard blew me away with the announcement that a new Lost In Space series is in production!! (I did not know this.) I believe it's going to be called "Space Family Robinson", which would be interesting, as I recall that was the original name of the shooting script (and the Ib Melchoir original, but let's not get into that).

	Photo by Nolan Canova	Photo by Joshua Montgomery
	Marta Kristen graciously allowed me to photograph this close-up of her at the head of the table. In background going leftward, is Mark Goddard (white pants), then just make out Bill Mumy's "handler" (bald man), Bill Mumy, and Angela Cartwright (next to pillar).	Bob May who donned the LIS robot costume during the series' run, here with me. A delightful gentlemen with terrifc behind-the-scenes stories and pictures.

June Lockhart I spoke to right before I left the Con. I had her picture and autograph from the Fairgrounds appearance, but wanted to stop and say Hi. (And of course belly-ache about the movie, OK OK.) She seemed tired so I couldn't find the nerve to ask for a pic. It was just a nice, intimate moment. At 70+ plus years old, she's still absolutely beautiful, and I mean that.

Lost and Found
Not being able to find our companions nearly ruined the Con for Joshua. (We needn't even have started looking for an hour as it turned out due to the ticket line.) He had bought a gaming card and talked to "Sgt. Boomer" of Battlestar Galactica (he's a big fan of the show) whose table was located next to LIS's Bob May. But he wanted to find Clayton, and I needed to find Scott. Not to mention ED Tucker, Jason Liquori, etc., etc. Already tired of walking by 12:30pm, we pulled up a couple chairs near the celeb area and decided to rest and hope somebody'd find us.

Photo by Nolan Canova
Genre star Brad Dourif signing autographs for adoring fans. Although fresh off "Lord of the Rings", I liked him immensly in "Legion: Excorcist III" and "ST: The Next Generation".

About ten minutes later, who came 'round the corner at 90 miles an hour, but ED Tucker! We both muttered profanities at the frustration of finding each other, but, of course, at least we found each other! He excitedly relayed his recent encounters: Sid Haig, Ken Foree, an unannounced Walter Koenig, and more. I introduced him to Josh and we met ED's friend, then together we all left to find the others. Miraculously, that came together pretty quickly. (Fortunately they all remembered me muttering something previously about meeting at the front gate at 1:00pm--thank god.) Will Moriaty had decided to delay his entry to the Con till after lunch and agreed to meet us at Darryl's on I-Drive around 1:00pm. This part, at least, was coming together. So, our now huge group, re-united and cross-introduced, headed for Darryl's.

Darryl's
It took some doing to get enough tables together for this Fanboy Summit Meeting (as ED has dubbed it), but with everyone now together (including the just-arrived William Moriaty), we explored fandom unleashed.

	Photo by Joshua Montgomery
	Ed Tucker and Nolan Canova in a very close reproduction of last year's picture! See issue 154 for that one.

From old to new, once we get going there's no stopping. One interesting thing we touched on is the current state of Paul Bearer Productions, who I'd been in some email contact with (and who were mysteriously absent from the Con). The upshot is the production seems to have cleared some road on the way to a new Creature Feature on WTOG's Channel 44, and the introduction of a new character as host, "Professor Paul Bearer II", but was uninterested in any outside help (outside of publicity) in any constructive capacity. My attitude about it has blown hot-and-cold for months.

After Darryl's we decided to split up, with the boys going back with Scott and Lexie to the Con, and the rest of us following Will's direction to go to some out-of-the-way-but-hip place called the Big Bamboo, named after it's particularly potent cocktail. Weirdly off-beat and atmospheric, it is where the Fanboy Summit went full-bore. I confess, after two Big Bamboos, my memory of this segment is fuzzy but very positive. I think I held my own OK, but the fan energy was definitely vortexing between William and Edward.

The Fanboy Summit Meeting at Darryl's. From left: Clayton "The Ogre" Smith, Lexie Fyfe, Scott van Sickle, Joshua "Black Dog" Montgomery (kneeling), Nolan B. Canova, ED Tucker, Byron Rocher (half-squatting), and William Moriaty. Not pictured: Donovan Johnson (who took this photo) and Pat Butler. In the two photos at right, Pat Butler and Byron Rocher are not seen here, but they are in the room.
	Ed Tucker and Nolan Canova getting hammered at the Big Bamboo, a bar named after its particularly potent cocktail. Photo by Donovan Johnson.
	I took this picture of William Moriaty and Donovan Johnson across from me and Ed. The notorious drink in question, The Big Bamboo, is that colorful concoction in the foreground.

Photo by William Moriaty
United at last. Nolan Canova meets Apopka filmmaker Jason Liquori (right) face-to-face for the first time with only minutes to go before the Con closes.

We meet at last
I took advantage of Byron's cellphone to try and contact Jason Liquori. Jason answered and said he'd been there since 1:00pm---or about the time we all left for lunch! He was sticking pretty close to the Virginia Hey (Farscape) table, so to look for him there. William and I didn't make it back through the door until nearly quarter to six. I ran around like mad, but didn't find Jason right away (I'm rather poor at finding faces in this kind of situaton anyway. I have to depend on people picking me out of a crowd; I'm a big enough target.) Finally I heard, "Nolan!", turned around and there he was. Hastily introducing him to William, we ran behind as Will tried to see everything in about 5 minutes. Luckily, Jason remembered where area filmmaker Katharine Leis's table was and I was able to meet her for the first time (we always seem to miss each other at the Renegade film festivals)!  Will bought a DVD from her. He's already sent in his review of it for this issue of PCR.

Leaving the convention, we sat outside in what may be called a food court and Will and I got to know Jason a little better. Very enlightening conversation and there are exciting plans ahead for all of us.

I, Robot
This was not near the Lost in Space tables, but in another area entirely. An outfit called The Sci-Fi Zone was in possession of one of the greatest reproductions of the Lost in Space robot I have ever seen, the legendary model B-9 (photo at left). According to the information, one of the proprietors I talked to built that himself, as well as Gort (Day the Earth Stood Still). I had no other convenient place to put these shots, but I knew I wanted to share them with you.

He said Gort (photo, right) was the "original production model", but he must've meant "based on" the original production model as that construction would have to be 50 years old by now!

Both robots are taller than they look in the pictures. The LIS machine is nearly 7 feet tall, and Gort is closer to 8 feet! Impressive. I wish I'd've gotten the names of the gentlemen involved, but at least I got the shop's name in the shot.

And in conclusion...

Two views of the Convention room floor after-hours from the glassed-in balcony. In the photo at left you can see the ghostly refection of William Moriaty on the right as the flash goes off. The windows to the upper right are where I take my next picture. The picture at right is from the just-mentioned windows a few yards down from where we were and offer a deeper view of the now empty Convention Hall.